The current state of the art for coping with snow and ice on roads usually involves applying a deicer material such as a salt to the road surface. Sometimes antiskid materials such as sand or other aggregates such as gravel are added with or without a salt.
The use of salt and compositions having high concentrations of salt, cause an undesirable corrosive effect on vehicles, the road surface, and the environment with respect to the run off of water containing salt which contaminates the surrounding land and water.
Considering the above problems associated with salt formulations, there has been a continuing need for a deicing composition or formulation which can be easily applied to effectively melt snow and ice yet which reduces the corrosion and environmental contamination referred to above. In response to the above problems associated with the use of road salt, the prior art has looked to alternative formulations which are less corrosive and more environmentally friendly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,240 (Johnson et al.) relates to a deicing composition comprising brewers' condensed solubles produced, for example, as by-products from a commercial beer brewing process, which by-products are biodegradable. The invention also relates to the use of a deicing composition to reduce the buildup of snow and ice on road, bridges and other outdoor surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,101 (Janke et al.) relates to a deicing composition containing a by-product of a wet milling process of shelled corn. Corn kernels are steeped or soaked in a hot solution containing small amounts of sulfurous acid. The corn kernels are separated from the steep water and the corn steepwater solubles are used in the production of a deicing composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,918 (Toth et al.) relates to a deicing composition which comprises a mixture containing at least one component selected from a number of chlorides or urea and an admixture of waste concentrate of alcohol distilling that has a dry substance content of from 200 to 750 g/kg and from 10% to 80% by weight of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,793 (Hartley et al.) utilizes a concentration of low molecular weight carbohydrates to produce a synergistic effect on the freezing point and ice/snow melting characteristics of chloride containing liquid deicers.
In some cases, the above described formulations appear to have low viscosities and poor adhering characteristics and when applied to salt and sand piles, the material will run off and not remain in its intended location on and in the salt/sand pile. Formulations exhibiting this problem also exhibited a tendency to run off when applied directly to roadway surfaces.
To improve quality and performance, and to meet current mandated standards, there has been a continuing need for a source of deicing formulations which exhibit improved performance with respect to their use and application and which also exhibit reduced metal corrosion, spalling of concrete, toxicity and address environmental concerns.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which exhibits improved performance standards which overcome the prior art problems described above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which exhibits an improved viscosity profile.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which exhibits increased stickiness when applied to salt piles and roadway surfaces and the like.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which provides consistent physical and chemical properties, thereby assuring consistent quality and performance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an economical, highly effective deicing formulation which can be efficiently and effectively applied to salt piles and roadway surfaces and the like.